Galveston, Texas -
Offshore Oil Drilling Rig and Museum

Unquestionably one of the most unique places I have come across was the Ocean Star Offshore drilling Museum in Galveston. This is housed in a former offshore drilling rig. When you first step aboard you are shown an interesting film on the history of drilling offshore. I always thought these platforms were more or less the same. I had no idea how many different types of rigs there were nor how many different ways there were to drill for oil. After the short film, you can explore the rig and see examples of equipment used along with dozens of large scalem intricately detailed models of drilling and exploration rigs. The outside area is somewhat restricted, probably to keep kids from using the thing as a playground (as I observed at the USS Texas the day before). The gift shop is full of unusual items. My favorite was a neat little souvenir bottle of unrefined oil with a label "Texas Black Gold." [Richard Weiss, 05/14/2005]